Vice President Kashim Shettima has said President Bola Tinubu is strongly committed to reducing the price of fertilisers for Nigerian farmers with the broader goal of ensuring food security in the nation.
Mr Shettima made the statement Tuesday at a Fertilizers Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) stakeholders’ meeting with the Federal Government, in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting also included the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi.
In his remarks, the Vice President said the federal government is committed to distributing the 33,000 metric tonnes of Potash that were donated to Nigeria by Russia’s Uralchem Group and UN Partners.
“Our goal is to serve the Nigerian people. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very passionate about reducing the cost of fertilizers for the Nigerian public,” Mr Shitimma was quoted to have said in a statement prepared by his spokesperson Olusola Abiola.
He added “No strings attached, no vested interest and the President will be happy if the price of fertilizers collapses by 50 per cent after this exercise”, VP emphasized.
The Vice President also revealed that President Tinubu places a high priority on achieving the nation’s food security objective, saying that this explains why the Tinubu administration declared a state of emergency in the food security sector last July.
He also expressed the seriousness attached to the donation and distribution of the potash from Uralchem Group.
He charged stakeholders that “there has to be transparency, equity and fairness in the distribution exercise for the reason that the end beneficiaries are the Nigerian farmers and their leadership is seated here.”
The Vice President assured stakeholders “that there will be transparency, there will be full disclosure and we are going to use our own blenders and the beneficiaries have to be the Nigerian people.”
